On MSNBC Saturday, Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe laid into Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for caring more about filling judicial vacancies than advancing new legislation to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
"Everything from McConnell is purely politics," said Tribe. "When he says 'leave no vacancy behind,' the hypocrisy is astonishing with the appointment. You have to give a new definition of chutzpah and hypocrisy. Maybe chuzpocrisy. But it's really not funny, because what is at stake is lifetime appointments. Like the appointment of Justin Walker, who McConnell is trying to push under the one broken seat on the D.C. Circuit. Justin Walker is a Kentucky protege of McConnell. He was deemed totally unqualified by the ABA, even for a district court seat in Kentucky."
"What McConnell is trying to do is simply pack the courts from top to bottom with people who are loyal to the Trump philosophy," said Tribe. "Not protecting the country against the coronavirus, but making sure the agenda of Trump and Barr, who challenge what is being done to protect us from the virus, that their agenda is not only the law of the land for the next few months, but the rest of our lives. For decades. These are lifetime appointments. Stacking the courts with far-right people who are deemed unqualified for good reason. They are very young and inexperienced. Political hacks more than jurists."
"Rule of law, rights of individuals, separation of powers, checks and balances — all of that is at stake," added Tribe. "I really couldn't emphasize more seriously that it is our future that is on the line in this election. Even before the election, I think Democrats have to do everything they can, which isn't a lot, to stop McConnell from carrying out his purely partisan political agenda with respect to the federal courts."
Watch below: